INS Arihant

#GS-03 Science and Technology

About INS Arihant:

INS Arihant is the lead ship of India’s Arihant class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.
The vessel was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project at the Ship Building Centre in the port city of Visakhapatnam.
INS Arihant is designated S2 Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarine.
INS Arihant is the first of the planned five in the class of submarines designed and constructed as a part of the Indian Navy’s Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project.
The ship is powered by an 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor with enriched uranium fuel.
The hull for the vessel was built by L&T’s Hazira shipbuilding facility.
Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division (SED) built the control systems for the submarine.
Arihant has four vertical launch tubes, which can carry 12 (three per launch tube) smaller K-15 missiles or four larger K-4 missiles.
Arihant holds the distinction of being the first ballistic missile submarine to have been built by a country other than one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines.
India uses its K family of missiles, (K for ‘Kalam’) as SLBMs to maintain second strike capability.
The ability to launch nuclear missiles from Submarines is an important aspect of ensuring second strike capability and the most technologically advanced aspect of the nuclear triad.

A nuclear triad is a three-pronged military force structure that consists of land-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-missile-armed submarines, and strategic aircraft with nuclear bombs and missiles.
Specifically, these components are land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and strategic bombers.
Presently only four countries are confirmed to be maintaining nuclear triad, which are China, India, Russia and United States.